Two leading Ukrainian black-metal bands from different schools — White Ward (Odesa, blackgaze) and Drudkh (Kharkiv, atmospheric black) — recorded a joint album. Release 28 August 2026.
White Ward and Drudkh — two leading Ukrainian black-metal bands from different aesthetic schools — announced on 18 January 2026 the joint album 'Shared Vision' with release on 28 August 2026 on Season of Mist label (France). Drudkh — atmospheric-pagan black metal band from Kharkiv, founded by Romana Sayenko in 2002 (one of the planet's most renowned atmospheric black-metal bands). White Ward — blackgaze from Odesa, founded 2011. Joint album concept — dialogue between two Ukrainian black-metal traditions: Drudkh with its pagan-atmospheric ethos vs White Ward with noir-jazz-blackgaze. The album contains 6 tracks (54 minutes total): 2 — by Drudkh in White Ward processing (atmospheric base + saxophone overlay); 2 — by White Ward in Drudkh processing (blackgaze base + pagan choir overlay); 2 — jointly written from scratch. Recording took place in two locations: Frequensa Studio in Lviv (Drudkh territory, March-May 2026 for metal parts) and House Studio in Kyiv (May-July 2026 for jazz overlay). This is Drudkh's first collaboration with another Ukrainian group in 24 years of existence — previously Drudkh was a principled solo project of Saenko. The album is available in formats: digital streaming, CD digipack, double LP vinyl in gold/black double-toned variant (limited 1500 copies).
